Any word on our next AD?

[TG1996]

We have a basketball arena named after a "flip flopper" by the way. . .

Aha! Good point! (and one I had forgotten about!)

And thanks for the follow up with the lyrics... its about time someone got on the ball here!

[JoeFalcon]

History is apparently repeating itself yet again.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 30303/1110

This article about the search for an AD at Colorado State University includes:

1) An active President spearheading the AD search using Neinas Sports Services as a consulting firm.
2) The search taking much more time than originally expected.
3) An utter blackout of information from anyone connected to the search.
4) Dueling opinions about balancing the need for secrecy vs. the need to motivate and excite the fan base.

[JoeFalcon]

Here’s your weekly update on the most important hire for BG athletics in years….the person is (wait…), the finalists are (darn, hold on…), the candidates are (uh, never mind…) A quick review of the timeline:

February 24: Paul Krebs officially emerges as a finalist for the New Mexico job (not so subtle signal to the administration that they should dust off their contingency plan, or formulate one at that)
March 12: Paul Krebs officially introduced as New Mexico athletic director.
March 31: A BG News article quotes VP Ed Whipple as saying “Our goal is to have someone named by the end of April…”
April 14: The hiring of a search firm is publicly acknowledged.


May 26: No discernable progress acknowledged either publicly or privately save a 5/24 article in the BG News (Thank you!) that says a list of finalists will be "released" in the next two weeks and that Ribeau and Whipple will choose from said list with no formal timetable to abide by.

http://www.bgnews.com/media/storage/pap ... bgnews.com

Two conclusions can be reached: those with knowledge of the situation are incredibly disciplined to the point that nothing of substance has leaked, and the search is moving slower than a pack of snails headed to an Alan Greenspan lecture. Meanwhile, the department and coaches are left in limbo with the Sebo Center not fully funded and the baseball renovation project left in the lurch with anxious and frustrated donors, as factman noted in a previous baseball thread.

The thumb-twiddling delays must end and President Ribeau and Vice President Whipple need to exercise their leadership by expediting this process and making a decision.

[PGY Tiercel]

Here’s your weekly update on the most important hire for BG athletics in years….the person is (wait…), the finalists are (darn, hold on…), the candidates are (uh, never mind…) A quick review of the timeline:

February 24: Paul Krebs officially emerges as a finalist for the New Mexico job (not so subtle signal to the administration that they should dust off their contingency plan, or formulate one at that)
March 12: Paul Krebs officially introduced as New Mexico athletic director.
March 31: A BG News article quotes VP Ed Whipple as saying “Our goal is to have someone named by the end of April…”
April 14: The hiring of a search firm is publicly acknowledged.


May 26: No discernable progress acknowledged either publicly or privately.

Two conclusions can be reached: those with knowledge of the situation are incredibly disciplined to the point that nothing has leaked, and the search is moving slower than a pack of snails headed to an Alan Greenspan lecture. Meanwhile, the department and coaches are left in limbo with the Sebo Center not fully funded and the baseball renovation project left in the lurch with anxious and frustrated donors, as factman noted in a previous baseball thread.

The thumb-twiddling delays must end and President Ribeau and Vice President Whipple need to exercise their leadership and make a decision.

Oh Really.... So You didn't read Wednesdays (5/24/06) edition of the BG news. Specifically, a list of candidates will be released in the next two weeks. Also says who is running things, so I really doubt anyone is left in "limbo".

Progress on AD as of 5/24/06, otherwise known as 2 days before 5/26/06

[JoeFalcon]

Nice try.

I read the article and updated the post, but it still doesn't change my fundamental point that the process is moving much, much too slowly.

I also wasn't referring to the day-to-day operations but rather the long-term facility and fundraising projects that need to be spearheaded by an actual athletic director (not "interim" or "deputy") that continue to be pushed to the side as the search drags on.

[PGY Tiercel]

Your edit still came after your incorrect statment, which I happened to make sure was quoted for others.

Why do you automatically assume it is the administration/university that is dragging things along slowly. Do you not think that it could be due to lack of quality candidates that they would like to bring in. Personally my fundamental point is that its not that slow and I don't care if they don't tell me that 5 people applied but we don't think they fit the job.

[Jacobs4Heisman]

A distinction needs to be made between slow and thorough. Since this is the most important hire in a long time as you have repeatedly mentioned, it makes sense to me to take whatever time is necessary to find the best candidate. There are plenty of competent people in the athletic department that can run the transition in the meantime.

[hammb]

I'm not a big fan of Colin Cowherd, but I still listen (why is that???)

Anyways, one thing that he likes to say seems to be appropriate here, "Very rarely do you make a worse decision when you take the time to think things through."

In other words, they could've hired somebody by now, I'm sure, but obviously they're not ready to do that. I'd much rather them take their time to hire the right guy than hire the wrong guy quickly.

[Falconfreak90]

A distinction needs to be made between slow and thorough. Since this is the most important hire in a long time as you have repeatedly mentioned, it makes sense to me to take whatever time is necessary to find the best candidate. There are plenty of competent people in the athletic department that can run the transition in the meantime.

Well said. Whatever length of time is needed to make the right choice seems the way to go. This is too important not to.

[JoeFalcon]

Your edit still came after your incorrect statment, which I happened to make sure was quoted for others.

Why do you automatically assume it is the administration/university that is dragging things along slowly. Do you not think that it could be due to lack of quality candidates that they would like to bring in. Personally my fundamental point is that its not that slow and I don't care if they don't tell me that 5 people applied but we don't think they fit the job.

I stand by my original statement. Giving a timetable on name releases after sought out by a reporter is essentially saying that a progress update will be forthcoming while avoiding the meat of the question: who will be hired and when. I don't consider 'We'll give you something at some point with no timetable' a "progress" update. We have an obvious disagreement on the pacing of the search, but semantical quibbles and "gotcha" games are tiresome and distract from the issue at hand.

As for the issue of thouroughness, I agree completely that this must be thorough but three months is ample time to conduct a quality, comprehensive search.

[Falcon Pete]

Perhaps the lack of media interest (ie The Blade) has allowed them to work "under the radar" and on their own timetable.

The delay does seem long, perhaps someone with knowledge of this kind of search can shed some light on the subject??

I seem to recall Ohio and Akron recently hiring new AD's, how long did the process take for them I wonder??

[Schadenfreude]

Columbus is supposedly conservative,

I'm not sure who would suppose that any more.

Columbus City Council is 100 percent Democratic. The last Republican on city council was Jeanette Bradley, the former lieutenant governor who recently lost the Republican nomination for state treasurer (as an incumbent) because she was so moderate.

As for Franklin County: It has shifted from somewhat red to somewhat blue over the past ten years. Republicans can still win countywide here, but the wind is in their face, not at their back.

In Columbus, we have a black male mayor, black female superintendent of schools, white female president at OSU, black AD, black police chief and fire chief.

... and a gay chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party.

Sorry to hijack the thread this way. Carry on.

[BGSUfalcons]

Since the last two AD's have been BG alumni, don't be surprised if the third one is as well. My bet is on Tom Hof at OSU, of course, I also predicted he would get it before. That was before I knew Krebs was a BG grad. Hof knows how to raise BiGmoney and build things. That is one more thing than Krebs knew. Hof's dad was the former Alumni Director and VP of Development at BG. Hof himself served on the Alumni Board of Directors in the mid-90's, and comes back periodically for events, as he has a number of friends and family in the area. Of course, the stumbling block might be that new OSU AD Gene Smith has given him more responsibilities and more money. He might end up taking a pay cut to come to BG.

Another option might be David Lichtenstein. He is assistant AD at Morehead State in Kentucky. He was a one time marketing director at Northern Illinois and has also been at New Mexico State, North Dakota State, and was a grad student at OSU. He is from Louisiana, went to Tulane, until they cut men's swimming, then graduated from Arkansas-Little Rock. Smart guy. Not always media savey, but smart. He would be the wild card.

Of course, if I was really a betting man, I would also look to two things that we haven't considered - race and sex. Don't be surprised to see a black male or female or a white female AD named. In Columbus, we have a black male mayor, black female superintendent of schools, white female president at OSU, black AD, black police chief and fire chief. Columbus is supposedly conservative, but the diversity of the high profile public figures belies that. BG is supposed to be conservative, but we have an african-american president. He along with a black male Board of Trustee member are the only ones of color in significant leadership. Don't be surprised if a person of color or female is named as AD. It would help BG in national profile more than one would ever imagine.

This is a bizarre post. Does "diversity" equal "of various races and both sexes"? What the heck does "conservative" mean here? Does it mean "politically conservative"? Are there not black and female conservatives?

It seems to me that whether or not Columbus is conservative has little to do with public figures' race or sex, or "diversity", and more to do with their political affiliation.

Also, I hope the AD search isn't being guided by this idea: "Don't be surprised if a person of color or female is named as AD. It would help BG in national profile more than one would ever imagine."